2017 ARP Street Rodder Road Tour Build: Day 2

Day 2 documenting construction of the 2017 ARP/Street Rodder Road Tour 1957 Chevrolet sponsored by Chevrolet Performance at Woodys Hot Rodz in Bright, Indiana began with attaching more of the Golden Star body panels to the previously assembled floor pan and cowl.

The next step in construction of the new 1957 rag top body shell was to hang the doors and install the rocker panels. Both are critical operations as they impact the location of the quarter panels. Not a procedure to be rushed, once the bottoms of the doors and rocker panels had the proper, uniform gaps the rockers were welded to the floor pan.

While the body was being worked on in one corner of the shop, Robert McGaffin was preparing to shoot photos of the ZZ6 crate motor provided by the presenting sponsor, Chevrolet Performance. Out of the box the small-block produces 405 horsepower and 406 lb-ft torque, more than enough to propel our Road Tour car on its appointed rounds.

As our engine was the turnkey version it came with a front drive system that came with an alternator, power steering pump and A/C compressor. Also included were a carburetor and distributor; however they will be replaced by a FAST fuel injection system and the accompanying distributor. To dress up the engine we will be adding a full complement of fasteners from ARP.

To transmit power the rearend under the Roadster Shop chassis we chose a 4L80E from Hughes. Along with the four-speed automatic overdrive transmission Hughes provided a lock-up converter, stand-alone electronic controller and cooler with an integral fan.

In two days the crew at Woody’s Hot Rodz has made amazing progress on our new 1957 Chevy convertible—and just wait until you s.ee what Day 3 brings.